Ramaphosa Praises IEC For Job Well Done

President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised
the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for the way its conducted
this year’s elections, saying the commission has served South Africans
with great distinction and dedication.

Ramaphosa was speaking during the official announcement of the provincial and national elections in Pretoria last night.

President
Ramaphosa says the IEC must be applauded for the hard work it’s put in
to ensure this year’s elections are free and fair.

“Often under
difficult conditions, you conducted yourselves, both as a commission as
well as the executive of the Independent Electoral Commission; you
conducted yourself professionally, impartially and with the dedication,
we’ve come to expect from this valuable intuition. Thank you for serving
our people with such great distinction.”

He says the will of the people must now be respected.

“Our
people have spoken and they’ve done so clearly and emphatically. They
voted for a united South Africa in which all may realise their
potential.

“They voted for a more equal society, free from
poverty, hunger and want. They’ve voted for a country that they’d like
to see at peace with itself and its continent.”

Ramaphosa has described this year’s elections as the resounding expression of the will of the people.

ANC REDUCED POWER

The
ANC easily won the general election on Saturday, but its share of the
vote fell, reflecting anger at corruption scandals and racial
inequalities that remain entrenched a generation after the party took
power.

It was the worst electoral performance by the late Nelson
Mandela’s former liberation movement, which has governed South Africa
since the country’s first free election marked the end of white minority
rule in 1994.

The ANC had not previously won less than 60% of the vote in a national poll.

The
ANC’s victory secures it enough seats in Parliament to give President
Cyril Ramaphosa another five-year term in office but may leave him short
of ammunition to battle party rivals who oppose his reforms to
galvanise the economy and counter graft.

“Let us now work
together, black and white, men and women, young and old to build a South
Africa that truly belongs to all that live in it,” he said in a speech
after his party was declared the winner.

In 2014, the ANC won 62% of votes, the DA 22% and the EFF 6%.

The
turnout for Wednesday’s vote was markedly lower than at the last
election in 2014, falling to 66% from 73.5%, the electoral commission
said.

The ANC’s seats in the 400-member parliament fell to 230
from 249. The main opposition Democratic Alliance also saw its number of
seats fall to 84 from 89, while the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters
gained 19 seats to 44. South Africa uses a system of proportional
representation.

The DA’s communications director Mabine Seabe said
the party viewed the outcome as “a positive result. We’ve grown in
communities we’ve never grown before”.

ANC Chairman Gwede Mantashe
said the party had received “another lifeline” from voters. He said the
party had improved compared with the 54% it won in the 2016 local
government poll.

“So we are picking up from that disaster,” he said.

Election officials said voting was generally smooth.

But
27 smaller parties, of 48 that ran in total, alleged irregularities and
threatened legal action, which the electoral commission said it would
oppose. International observers said the elections were free and fair.

RAMAPHOSA “SAFE”

Ramaphosa
had sought to re-engage voters whose enthusiasm for the ANC has been
eroded by its faltering efforts to address corruption, high unemployment
and persistent racial disparities in housing, services and land
distribution.

Africa’s most advanced economy remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, according to the World Bank.

The
ruling party retained control of eight of South Africa’s nine provinces
in separate elections also held on Wednesday, with the DA keeping hold
of the Western Cape, home to Cape Town, where Parliament resides.

Analysts had said a poor showing by the ANC would embolden opponents of Ramaphosa and risk a challenge to his leadership.

Fikile
Mbalula, a former cabinet minister who was in charge of the ANC’s
election campaign, said its 10 million votes were the result of hard
work by its leadership.

He hailed union leader turned business tycoon Ramaphosa’s role in starting to undo negative public perceptions.

“People
love him,” Mbalula said. “And from where we were, we were battered in
terms of our image and he was a game-changer for the ANC.”

The
66-year-old president was “very safe” from internal challenges, he said,
adding: “The ANC is very strong in protecting their leadership. Even if
there are remnants trying their thing, they will not succeed.”

The ANC achieved its best parliamentary election result in 2004 under former president Thabo Mbeki, when it won 69% of the vote.